Lilac for a Fox
by The Surrogate
Summary: Hinata makes a mistake that can't be fixed, but for Hanabi it might be a blessing.


**A/N: This is just an idea that was supposed to just be a few drabbles, but as I started to write it turned into a oneshot story that I just love now. There really isn't much more to say, but that I hope you enjoy the read!**

 **Lilac for a Fox**

I walked through the forest towards the hidden training ground that I had been called to. It wasn't long before I could make out the sunny blonde hair of my village's Hokage in the clearing ahead of me. As I raised my hand to call out a hello I noticed the unusually dark look on his face and stopped short to hurried to his side.

"Naruto? Why did you call me here? Is something wrong?" When he turned to me his face broke my heart. It reminded me of the few occasions when we were younger that I saw him get berated by the villagers who had hated him. The restrained tears and so obvious mask I had only been able to notice now that we were as close as family.

"Hanabi, it's good to see you I just wish it were under better conditions." He sighed and motioned for me to follow him. We walked a few feet to the edge of the clearing and sat down under the shade of a tree. A few minutes of silence passed by before he finally spoke. "Hinata is having an affair." I gaped at the sheer absurdity of what he said. My sister was having an affair? The same sister that had spent the great majority of her life chasing after the now Hokage was having an affair? I just could believe it.

"You can't actually be serious about this right? Hinata would never-"

"I _saw_ her Hanabi." His words came out as a choked whisper. "The past few weeks I've noticed things. A smell, a glow, and just an unusually mood. At first I wouldn't believe it myself, but before too long it was eating at me from the inside. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and broke. I used one of the Old Man's jutsu from back in the day, his Tōmegane no Jutsu along with the Crystal Ball, to spy on her after I left for work." His head was down and hands clenched slightly shaking. If he was lying he was doing a damn good job. "At first I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Cleaning the house, reading a book, and buying groceries. Right before I was going to end the jutsu I saw her going to a part of town she didn't have a reason to. Eventually, she entered someone's house and began talking to a man I didn't know." I could see this was painful for him to recount, I was tempted to have him stop, but I had to know what he saw so I didn't stop him even when I saw the tears start to fall. "They went up to his room, started to undress, and then…and then you know what happened. I cut off the jutsu before I could see much more. If I actually saw her _enjoying_ it I don't think I could stop myself from going and killing that fucking bastard." I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him to my chest. It didn't take long for the shaking and small tears to turn into quiet sobs.

"Naruto, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." A few tears had escaped my own eyes as I felt him shake in my arms. We stayed like that, huddled, pressed together, for a long while before he calmed down enough to speak clearly.

"Thank you for that Hanabi. It wasn't easy to repeat all of that, but that's beside the point. I called you here to ask for a favor." I tilted my head in confusion as I didn't see a way I could really do much. "I'm going to confront Hinata about this, and if things just don't go well I'd like you there to talk to her or comfort her after this is all over." I smiled slightly at that. Even after he found out about this he still cared for her. What could make my sister do something as stupid as cheat on this sweetheart.

"Alright, I'll do whatever I can to help." I said as we began to walk back to his estate.

"Thank you." His voice was quiet but filled with gratitude.

* * *

The confrontation wasn't exactly what I expected. I stood outside of the room they were in fully ready for yelling or fighting, but as the minutes turned to hours all I could hear was soft crying. Finally, as the sun was starting to set the door opened and Naruto walked out.

"Hinata and I are going to take a break for a little while. She'll be staying at the Hyuuga Compound until we resolve this completely." He turned and began to walk up the stairs to their room before stopping and turning back to me. "Thank you for being there for me Hanabi I appreciate it." I nodded as he turned back, and I turned around to look at Hinata. Her eyes were puffy and cheeks tear stained.

"Well, come on Big Sis let's get home." She didn't say anything as she turned and walked towards the door. The walk home was quiet and cold. I thought it was pretty fitting for what had just transpired. We walked in silence for the majority of the way. As we reached the entrance of the Hyuuga Compound I stopped and turned to her my morbid curiosity and hope for a good outcome getting the better of me. "I just have to know why you did it Hinata. There was a good reason for this right?" She just looked at me not responding. The moments ticked by and I was worried she wasn't going to answer before she finally spoke.

"No, there really wasn't a good reason. It just...happened. An acquaintance became a friend, then a flirtation, and then a lover. I was like Kaguya I tasted something I shouldn't have, and became drunk on it." With that last word she turned and hurried inside not looking back. I went after her and found her in her old room. She was collapsed on the dusty bed crying her eyes out.

"Oh, you big idiot." I wanted to yell her for letting such a stupid thing happen, but with how she was now I couldn't find it in myself to kick her while she was down. I sat down next to her and massaged her back. She wasn't a bad person. She had made a stupid mistake, but she was just human. So I sat there, comforted her, and let her cry herself to sleep.

* * *

It had been a week since Naruto had found out about Hinata's affair. They had decided to keep the entire thing a secret as to not affect Boruto and Himawari. I had a feeling that wouldn't last as long as they wanted it to though. He could probably fool Sakura, but as soon as Sasuke returned he'd find out. He was never good at keeping anything from the onyx eyed loner. Nevertheless, I went by the Hokage's office everyday to check on him. Each day it was the same thing he'd give me that broken smile, wave off my concerns assuring me he was dealing with it, and we'd talk for a while as he did his paperwork. It was quite obvious that he wasn't properly taking care of himself by the bags under his eyes and the perpetually sagged shoulders. Today was different though. I wasn't going to let him just brush off my concerns. I walked in boldly, and before he could say anything I pointed straight at him.

"You. Me. Hokage Monument five minutes." Without waiting for his reply I used a quick Shunshin to get to the meeting place. Not surprisingly, he was already waiting for me there. I sat down on a patch of grass and patted my lap. "Come on, lay down and let's talk."

"Hanabi I don't-"

"This isn't a request. You look terrible, and I want to help. When was the last time you even slept right?" I asked accusingly

"It was three days ago…" He didn't fight me anymore, and just laid down resting his head on my lap. I started to rub my fingers along his scalp gently massaging it. He visibly started to relax as I continued. It was a sign of trust that I relished.

"So tell me, have you been taking care of yourself at all this past week? Eating correctly, bathing, washing your clothes?" He chuckled softly as I listed off more things.

"Sorry Hanabi, but I can barely concentrate as of late. All of that just seems beyond me. At the very least Boruto and Himawari are having fun staying with you at the Hyuuga Compound." I gave him a small slap to the side of the head.

"That won't do at all. You need to not worry so much about them, and a little more about yourself. How about this, during lunch I'll make an extra portion to bring to you, and for dinner I'll come over to cook something? I'll have you know I'm a much better chef than my sister!" I smiled down cheekily at him.

"You really don't need to go through all of that trouble for me Hanabi. I can take care of myself perfectly fine." He said looking up at me with a slight frown.

"Maybe on a battlefield you can, but in this regular day to day you're clueless. Besides, I really do enjoy cooking, and with someone to taste it I can get much better. Think of it like training OK? I get to improve my skills and you get a nice tasty meal. I'll even make you ramen!" I smirked evilly at my own genius.

"Oh fine, but it better be some damn good ramen!" We laughed together. It was good to hear a genuine laugh from him again. Everything had seemed so forced the past week. We sat in a comfortable silence for the rest of our time up on the monument. Him dozing peacefully and me humming an old lullaby. When he finally had to go back to his duties we shared a warm embrace that I missed as soon as we let go.

* * *

Another week had passed since Hinata's infidelity had come to light. With the children in mind, they had both agreed to not get a divorce until Himawari had, at the very least, graduated from the academy. I was currently on my way to Naruto's estate to cook him dinner as I had been doing the past few days. We had become a lot closer the in the past two weeks. When he had first married Hinata I didn't really know anything about him other than what my father had said and what I could gather from our brief meetings. As the years went by though I gradually learned bits and pieces, but in this past two weeks I had learned so much more. He'd told me about his parent, his trip with the Toad Sannin Jiraiya, and of his time training with the Hachibi's Jinchuuriki Killer B. Naruto had lived a hard but exciting life, and I loved to hear about every part of it. As I reached his home I entered and called out his name.

"Naruto? You haven't passed out from exhaustion again have you?" I huffed as I remember having to drag him from his couch up to the master bedroom. That night had actually been quite fun for me. I had tucked him in and later on, when he woke, spoon fed him some soup I made earlier. Not many people could claim to have done something like that to the strongest shinobi in all the world. When I got to the kitchen I found him stirring a pot on the stove. He had on quite an amusingly feminine pink apron for a man of his stature.

"Oh, hey Hanabi. I thought that since you've been taking care of me these past two weeks the least I could do was make you dinner one night." He smiled at me as he continued to stir. From the smell wafting towards me I could tell it was, not surprisingly, ramen. Luckily, it didn't seem to be instant but actually made from scratch. "You shouldn't have to wait much longer it's nearly done."

"You didn't have to go through all this trouble for me. I just enjoy taking care of you." And it was true, I did genuinely enjoy taking care of him and just his company in general. In fact, I had a suspicion that my feelings were a bit more intimate, but I didn't think he could really handle a new relationship so soon. I sat down at the table resting my chin in my hands and watched as he began to serve both of us. We spoke and ate for the a while just enjoying the food and each other's company. The time flew and eventually we ended up sitting on the couch in the den leaning on each other. "I have to admit Naruto you're a very good cook. Almost as good as me." I said with a wink. He laughed and looked at me with eyes filled with mirth.

"I'm glad you've been here for me Hanabi. I don't know what I would have done without you here to keep me in check." I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him. Even after all these years and trials he still wasn't given a break. He deserved a bit of respite. As we started to part from the hug we looked into each other's eyes. There were so many emotions swirling around in his. Pain, joy, and weariness were but a few. I don't know how long we stayed like that, just enjoying the closeness, before something came over me I did something I can't fathom. I kissed him. It was soft and filled to the brim with an unexpected love. I pulled back a moment after afraid it would ruin what we had.

"Naruto, I'm so sorry I know-" My apology was cut short as his lips met mine again. The shock of his reciprocation didn't last long as I kissed him back full force. We spent the rest of the night locked in each others embrace not wanting to let go.

* * *

The next morning we woke up still pressed against each other. My head on his chest and arms around his neck and his arms around my waist. I lifted my head up to look at his resting face. There was no worry or pain just a peaceful serenity. The memory of his voice calling out my name was still etched into my mind, and I couldn't be happier. We may have not been each other's firsts, but we had made sure that this was not something to be forgotten. Today, being my day off, I decided to just lay my head back down on his warm chest and sleep in some more.

"I hope this moment doesn't ever end." I felt a rumble of agreement from deep in his chest as he tightened his arms around me.


End file.
